Jen Brister: Jen Brister is British(ish)
Live Review

Jen Brister's mum is Spanish but she, herself, was born and raised in England. The contrast between the exuberance of her parent and the reserved British nature gets the comedian thinking about her own identity and where exactly she belongs on the spectrum of Britishness.

So, goes the idea behind the show at least. In reality what we have is a premise that allows her to go on a supermarket sweep of stereotypical attributes.

Us Brits, we don't have opinions but hate queue-jumpers and make great play of boring our eyes into the back of them. Or at least Brister makes great play of this, because of her tendency to go above and beyond the duty of a comic to exaggerate.

In fact it's quite possible that this show could have been done in half the time, but still have felt like it dragged, due to Brister's habit of over-inflating every little detail in order to squeeze some comedy out of it, dragging out what is already a thin premise.

Another example of this comes when she is laying into Britain's colonial past, reading out a list of colonies while she masturbates. Sounds avant-garde? Well, the focus is mainly on Britser's dramatic and booming delivery and any merit seems lost in this mini-monologue that moves me only to think, ‘What do you want from us? Apologise for something we weren't around for in the first place?’

Besides, it's not as if Brister can take the moral high ground with her impression later of an unintelligible Scot who, it transpires, works in the Tourist Information Office. Not a bad gag in its delivery but another example of the hackneyed tour we're on.

Undoubtedly, Brister is a confident and forthright performer with presence but all too often these qualities are abused, and hand-in-hand with exaggerations comes Brister's assumption that shouting means funny. No, it's not just sketch troupes that make this mistake.

The show ends with two stories, one about porn that bears no relation to the theme and contains within it some good observations as well as an interminable playlet, and another that tries to wrap up the theme with a weak callback.

Disappointing. No -ish, no buts.

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Absolutely brilliant! This is one talented lady and an entertaining hour well spent! Jens energy and skill for voices had us in stitches. Definitely worth going to see this refreshing & hilarious woman.

Jon, August 2011

Seen her twice now and she had me in stitches both times. I don't know why she isn't on TV? If they need to make room they should fire Andy Parsons, Russell Howard...and that annoying Geordie bird.

Dave Croft, August 2010

I've seen Jen Brister at the Kings Head a number of times and always thought she was pretty funny. But this time she was doing new material and she blew the audience out of the water. She had us in the palm of her hand. I strongly recommend you see her, you won't regret it.

Corin Thomas, July 2010

I saw Jen Brister at the Water Poet and it was one of the best comedy performances I've seen. She has real presence on stage, putting the audience at ease and then telling a series of hilarious and sometimes excruciatingly embarrassing stories that keep the belly laughs coming. Even when you think about them on the train to work the next day.

Frances Robinson, June 2010

This woman is amazing! First time I saw her I was on a stag-do and she stormed it. I saw her again recently and I thought the last time might have been because I was drunk, but she really is brilliant! Go and see her.

Dave, April 2010

Jen Brister is brilliant! I don't usually leave comments on websites but she was so good I have to. I saw her at Kings Place and it's the first time I've been in hysterics for years. My stomach really hurt by the time we left. If you get the chance, see her!

Annette Huggens, February 2010

Jen was the first act of a comedy evening in Dulwich last night. She was amazing! Jen was quick to adapt to the audience, everyone was laughing their heads off! The comments here do not do Jen justice, she is absolutely fantastic. Will definitely see her next time she is in London!

Andreas, February 2010

This woman is hilarious, she tells the funniest stories. The one about "pregnant lady!" nearly made me piss my pants.

Jared, February 2010

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